Billionaire Wee Cho Yaw’s UOB To Tap Southeast Asia’s Growth With Expanded Regional Franchise

United Overseas Bank—controlled by banking and property billionaire Wee Cho Yaw—is stepping up competition across Southeast Asia as the Singapore lender taps its expanded retail banking customer base following the acquisition of Citigroup’s credit card business across four of the region’s largest economies.

UOB completed the acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking operations in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, boosting its regional customer base to more than 7 million as of the end of March. The number is expected to reach 8 million once the acquisition of Citigroup’s operations in Indonesia is completed by the end of the year.

First announced in January 2022, the S$4.9 billion ($3.7 billion) acquisition is the biggest bet made by UOB in more than a decade, and is considered by some analysts as a game-changer for the lender. The bank celebrated the growth in its regional franchise with corporate partners and key customers in a lavish dinner it hosted this week across its biggest markets in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

“This evening is a showcase and celebration of our belief in the growth in ASEAN, our regional franchise, our scale and strategic partnerships,” Jacquelyn Tan, managing director and head of personal financial services at UOB, said late Wednesday at the packed grand ballroom of Capella Singapore. “This is the best time for us to launch our brand new card spiel, one that is showcasing the purchasing power of ASEAN.”

The acquisition has started to make positive contributions to UOB’s bottomline, with the bank reporting a net profit of S$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) in the first quarter, up 67% from the previous year. Core operating profit from the group’s regional retail banking operations more than doubled to S$795 billion with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand accounting for the bulk of earnings.

“Credit card fees almost doubled [in the first quarter] due to contributions from contributions from the Citi portfolio and significant pick-up in consumer spending,” Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO of UOB, said at the bank’s recent earnings briefing in late April. “We anticipate a lot of growth out of the Citi portfolio,” he added, saying the Citigroup portfolio is projected to boost the group’s revenue by S$1 billion for the whole of 2023.

UOB was cofounded in 1935 by Wee Cho Yaw’s father Wee Khiang Cheng as United Chinese Bank. Apart from his controlling interest in the bank, Wee, 94, holds significant stakes in real estate companies including UOL Group and Kheng Leong. With a net worth of $6.8 billion, he was ranked No. 9 on the list of Singapore’s 50 Richest that was published last September.